Comic books have been immersed in their action-packed approach to things for so long that their broader subtle political messages have lost center-stage focus. Now, Beau DeMaio’s much-anticipated creation and simple acknowledgment of gender politics in the revival of the superhero saga with the upcoming X-Men ’97 series under the Marvel Animation banner has come under sharp criticism for clearly charting that path. Is.
Just a day ago, the trailer for X-Men ’97 was released and revealed the first good look at the return of X-Men: The Animated Series that ran from 1992 to 1997. In the world of Marvel, creatives also shared exclusive introductions to returning characters with Empire Magazine, one of which did not sit well with fans of the superhero universe.
Shapeshifter Morph, also recognized as one of Wolverine’s best players on the team, will present as nonbinary. The introduction also reveals that he “has an interesting friendly relationship with Wolverine”, which has sparked a positive conversation among fans. While wokeness was originally associated with being actively informed, educated, and aware of social injustice, racial prejudice, and discrimination, the term has become synonymous as a slur in current scenarios. What was once accepted as the epitome of empathy and social awareness is now rejected and ridiculed for its extreme ‘leftist leanings’.
In 2017, Stan Lee also released a message to Marvel fans about how this alternate fictional universe “has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window… stories of heroism… everyone’s We have room for everyone, no matter their race, gender, religion or the color of their skin. The only things we don’t have room for are hatred, intolerance and bigotry.”
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The whole point of the X-Men’s proudly proclaimed motto, “Mutants and Proud”, is to send a message of acceptance. In 2000, Lee spoke to the Guardian and also expressed his love for the idea that the X-Men film was “a good metaphor for the civil rights movement”.
The X-Men characters, in general, have been the proud bearers of the continuity of this socio-political allegory. Marvel Comics creator Fabian Nicieza confirmed the much-discussed Deadpool’s ‘Marvel Jesus’ persona as pansexual in a 2015 tweet: “He’s no sex and all genders”.
The people who derogatorily address Morph’s identity switch for going the Disney route of ‘wokeness’ are forgetting that Mystique, one of the major characters of the Metaphorically depicted through. Regardless of how one treats the older live-action productions, those films were also heavily influenced by the subtle conversations around Mystique’s gender fluidity.
After marrying her husband in the 2012 edition of Astonishing X-Men, Northstar was announced as the first openly gay character to come out in a Marvel Comics publication. Subsequently, Iceman also came out as gay in 2015. Continuing on that path, Marvel Comics welcomes the first X-Men transgender hero, Escapade, in 2022. While these names are just a few of the many others that carry the badge of queerness. Gaurav, a particular fan minority, has still not been able to accept this fluidity. These fans have been called fanatics on social media.
X-Men controversy: fan reactions on social media
Some fans have vocally opposed the ‘morph nonbinary’ narrative in the 1990s by rejecting gender politics altogether:
“Putting the “Message” into ’90s Politics”.
“They can’t stop.”
More explicit messages took a dig at Disney: “Disney has taken over: Let’s make it gay and lame”. On the same page, others have also expressed their concerns about the new series possibly furthering “the relationship between Morph and Wolverine to become awakened.”
On the other hand, a major fan source, X-Men Updates, has openly taken a stance against fan reactions. Recognizing the
Others have objected to the handling of the crime and reminded people that most of these stories are politically or socially driven. “Bigots being X-Men fans is both ridiculous and pathetic,” came another response.
It’s quite likely that other X-Men stories in the future, including iconic live-action hits like Deadpool and Wolverine, will feature more examples of identity politics in an effort to better portray representation. Negasonic Teenage Warhead had already emerged as such a character in Deadpool 2 when she announced her girlfriend Yukio to the gang.
The X-Men characters have a long history of confronting “normal” humans about their mutant characteristics, which has resulted in many violent displays of oppression. Yet somehow, angry fans let this underlying metaphor slip from their notice.
